The term GPS refers to a global position system which provides data indicating these precise whereabouts of the GPS receiver. The GPS system is a 1990's extension of the old Loran system of World War II. That system was used to provide navigational data for ships at sea, especially those between the U.S. and Europe. In modern times, the GPS system has taken advantage of satellites which are stationed in synchronous orbits in space. Effectively, the satellite does not move with respect to a specific ground location on the earth so that it effectively has the operating advantages of a very tall antenna, indeed, an antenna extending about 20,000 miles up into space. A signal is transmitted from the GPS satellite and is received by a GPS receiver and data is processed which provides an indication of the location whereabouts of the receiver. GPS systems have recently been added to automobiles. They have common use in automobiles to especially provide the location of the automobile. Through the use of the GPS satellite, the on board GPS receiver and stored data, a screen can be presented to the driver which tells the driver the location of the vehicle with respect to a stored memory entry indicative of the map of a given city, to pick an example. The streets, buildings, and obstacles of a map in a given city are loaded into a CD ROM or other memory device and that data then is used to indicate to the driver the location or whereabouts with respect to the city. Sometimes, it can be used in a control or predictive fashion. This is exemplified by the patent of Blaker, which is U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,973. That helps determine the next freeway exit, thereby signaling to the driver what exit to take to arrive at a desired destination. As a further example, the recent patent of Schreder which is U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,482 uses GPS navigation to accomplish traffic routing around traffic jams and that sort of thing. Not withstanding the use of a GPS system as a 911 protection system regarding kidnapping, all as evidenced in the patent of Fast, which is U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,149. The present disclosure sets forth an improved and enhanced system which has GPS based responses. is U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,149. The present disclosure sets forth an improved and enhanced system which has GPS based responses.
In particular, the present disclosure incorporates a memory which is adapted to receive a set of grid coordinates comparable to latitude and longitude for limiting mobility of the vehicle. This could be used to confine a vehicle to a specified region. Consider as an example a typical rectangular county in the midwest where all four sides of the county are laid out as straight line segments of specific latitude and longitude. A large number of counties are defined in that fashion stretching all the way from central Texas up to the Canadian border. Counties laid out in this rectangular pattern provide an easy example. The examples given below, while easily stated in terms of arithmetic, can be extended to more complicated geographic patterns. Suffice it to say, and taking into account examples which will be given, the GPS system is used to build or define an electronic fence around a given area. This has salutary effect in the use of the vehicle. First, it is a mechanism by which theft of the vehicle is limited. Secondly, it is a system by which an authorized driver is authorized for a given area, but not for another area. In the latter instance, this will occur for vehicles which are carrying dangerous cargoes which are permitted in some areas, but not others. As another example, this will apply to a vehicle which has insurance for one geographic area, but the insurance policy is not effective for other areas. Finally, it is effective for particular drivers, for example, an older driver may be authorized for a larger area while a beginning teenager driver, will be authorized only for a specified area. The form of the electronic fence will be described in various examples given below, but it is a mechanism by which the vehicle operator is warned and subsequently the vehicle can then be shut down. The latter event is typically used to stop the vehicle as would occur on vehicle theft.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, another memory is used for loading of a pattern of streets. This can be used to great advantage to keep certain vehicles off certain streets. Again, with a vehicle which is hauling a flammable cargo, certain routes are set aside for such vehicles. The GPS system of the present disclosure assists in keeping vehicles confined to the specified routes. Furthermore, it can be used for authorized delivery routes of any type of delivery vehicle. There might be a specified route for morning deliveries while a different route would be implemented for evening deliveries. Other variations can be implemented such as different delivery routes for different days of the week or for different products. After a route is driven, it may be hard to recall changes tied to the day of the week, etc. The present disclosure sets out a system which particularly enables route drivers to find their way with a variety of routes. This is also especially true when a route is changed, an example being the loss of one customer and the addition of another customer. This may change the pathway of the route significantly. This enables the route to be modified, looking at the map, thereby enabling a highly efficient route to be developed in light of distances on the map, difficulties with left turns, and so on. Moreover, the information which is provided for the driver is keyed to the date and time of day so that the route driver is assured of following the right route at the right time. Changes in routes can be accommodated dynamically during use.
The present navigational system finds great benefit in a vehicle which is equipped with on board sensors to prevent burglary leading up to auto theft. While automotive alarm systems are old, the present disclosure cooperates with an alarm system which is a smart alarm system, i.e., one which shuts down the vehicle or otherwise provides alarm signals in the vehicle to protect the vehicle. The alarm system incorporated in the present disclosure provides two levels of protection. The first level of protection is protection against intrusion into the vehicle as might occur with night time theft. On the other side of the coin, the vehicle might be stolen in broad daylight, or at other times where the alarm system is not armed. This brings into play another aspect of the alarm system. If the vehicle is stolen and moved outside the permitted area, this requires transportation over the electronic fence. That can be used as a trigger to sound various and sundry alarms, giving a ten second warning, and then shutting off the ignition system. Also, it can be used to provide transmission of the vehicle whereabouts via cell phone. Examples of that will be developed below. In the alternative to that kind of interruption, an interruption using the audio and visual alarms can be implemented, forming a signal as an example to the operator to return to a specified road. Should the operator persist in driving on the wrong road or on the wrong route, then a warning can be given and the vehicle thereafter shut down after a ten or twenty second warning. The warnings have the value of shutting down the vehicle after forcing the driver to pull to the curb or to otherwise get out of the flow of traffic. This may still leave the vehicle parked illegally or obstructing traffic in some aspect, but at least it will give the vehicle driver enough time to pull to the side and get out of harm's way. There is an advantage to this, namely, that this kind of warning will enable the driver to pull to the side and to actually leave the vehicle. There is an advantage to this, should the vehicle operator be a thief, because it is desirable to let the thief pull over and get away from the vehicle. Alternately, the warning of ten seconds can be given at which time the vehicle pulls over and the doors are automatically locked, thereby holding the thief in the vehicle. The horn can then be sounded, or other warnings can be given to those in the near vicinity so that they will know that an illegal theft has occurred. Any number of steps can be undertaken depending on the on board audio and visual alarms provided with the present invention, and its cooperative connection to and triggering of door locks, window locks and so on.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the vehicle provided with the present system can be tracked. This kind of tracking system can be used to charge a mileage based depreciation account. In vehicles which are assigned to a pool, the various trips using vehicles out of the pool can be charged to individual drivers or departments involved in use of the vehicle. While this is done now commonly with company owned aircraft, it may be expedient to extend that to company owned automobiles.
In another aspect of this disclosure, the system can be used to provide vehicle movement and tracking to thereby increment departmental charges for vehicle use and operation, or for insurance purposes. Some automobile leases are tied to mileage. This helps keep the driver informed of charges. This helps keep the home office informed of use, so that daily use charges can allocated if desired. These and other features and benefits result from the use of the present GPS based system. It is above all else a system which enables adaptability to be accomplished. The adaptability enables the vehicle to be protected while yet keeping track of the location of the vehicle when properly used, and especially enables interdiction of the vehicle when illegally used.
The present apparatus is summarized an onboard GPS system incorporating a GPS receiver cooperative with a microprocessor or CPU. The CPU is provided with two separate memories. In typical circumstances, one memory comprises instructions defining an electronic fence. This memory is loaded with the electronic fence data so that the fence is made up of border segments which close to a defined geographic area and that fence is encoded in terms of latitude and longitude so that the GPS system can determine whether the vehicle is inside or outside the fence. A second memory is included and is preferably implemented cooperatively with a CD ROM so that a local map can be input, and specific streets are authorized on that map. While the choice may be all streets on the map, the streets also can be limited so that delivery routes are implemented, and different delivery routes can be implemented for different days or different products. The system incorporates a set of connections to door and window sensors to detect wrongful entry. This enables system control of the automobile in response to the sensors. Indeed, if a burglar attempts to enter the vehicle, an alarm can be initiated. Moreover, if a thief does get possession of the vehicle, it can be tracked and its whereabouts determined; in an interactive fashion, the vehicle can either be automatically or reactively stopped with or without warning and with or without an opportunity to lock the doors, thereby preventing the thief from escaping. The system cooperates with automobile engine and electrical ignition system, generator system and battery. This system enables proper storage of all the travels of the vehicle and whether or not they are authorized (or unauthorized) depending on the electronic fence implementation or the route implementation described above.